UNM football notes: After early injury, safety Austin Brawley excited to return against Colorado State

For Austin Brawley, it wasn’t anything new.

After all, New Mexico’s senior safety had dealt with injuries before. As a sophomore at Ohio, he made 41 total tackles and two interceptions over nine starts before a back injury ended his season. As a junior, he missed five games due to “personal issues” before returning to finish the season out.

Then, Brawley transferred to UNM last winter, where he became a day one starter and team captain. In the season opener at Michigan, the kid who once dreamed of suiting up for Ohio State made play after play against the Buckeyes’ biggest rival, a fresh start rewarded in a major way.

And in one moment, it was over: Brawley suffered a clean break in his right foot against the Wolverines.

If it wasn’t anything new, it couldn’t have been more frustrating.

“It’s not what I wanted my college career to look like,” Brawley admitted Tuesday.

But that frustration will come to an end this weekend. Brawley is set to return Saturday for the Lobos’ game against Colorado State. After he was medically cleared, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Massillon, Ohio, native slowly worked his way back into practice over the last few weeks, eventually receiving a warm welcome from the rest of the team.

“They were all super excited when they announced that I was playing this week in the team meeting. Everyone started clapping,” Brawley remembered. “I think everyone was just excited to see me back out there (and) I’m excited to be back out there with them.”

Brawley also figures to give a UNM defense allowing 259.2 passing yards per game (ninth in the Mountain West) a boost against a Rams offense averaging 187.7 passing yards (ninth in the league) — even if he might not be playing every down.

“We got to take a long look at, with Brawley coming back, how we’re going to reconfigure our defensive backfield,” head coach Jason Eck said in a news conference last week. “Obviously, we want to get him in action, but we’ve had some guys play pretty good in his absence. We still gotta find a way to use those guys and help us win.”

But for now, Brawley’s simply looking forward to helping UNM’s unexpected push for a Mountain West Championship appearance — he previously won two MAC titles at Ohio.

Playing in his first game at University Stadium is also appealing, for Brawley and select fans alike.

“New Mexicans are very passionate about their sports,” he laughed. “I had a couple times where I’m just wearing the headset on the sideline and fans are yelling at me, ‘your foot looks fine, get back on the field!’ I’m like, ‘I’ll be there soon.’”

And, by taking a redshirt this season, he can look forward to plenty more next year.

“It’s like a blessing in disguise … I never thought it was going to happen. My brain instantly goes to offseason workouts and I’m like, ‘dang, I have to go through another fall camp’ and stuff like that,” he laughed. “But I’m super excited to be in this program in another year, with (defensive coordinator Spence Nowinsky) and everyone.”

Notes and quotes

MIDSEASON CHANGES: After Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell was fired last month, defensive coordinator Tyson Summers was elevated to the interim role with Grant Chestnut taking over offensive play calling duties.

Has Eck seen any considerable differences since that change?

“I feel like (there’s) maybe a little bit more commitment to running the ball,” Eck said. “Maybe a little more tight end (usage), a little bigger personnel … I think earlier in the year you saw a little bit more of the Air Raid personnel and 10 personnel (four receivers). They’re still doing some of that, but I think they’re doing that (12 personnel, a formation with one running back and two tight ends) a little bit more.”

OUT OF THE BYE: Eck said UNM has cut down on practices throughout the season, holding only two during the bye last week.

“When I was a young (offensive line) coach, you always want to cover everything and make sure we’ve gotten a million reps and repped every blitz,” he added. “But I think you can have diminishing returns if guys legs are getting heavy. (Strength and conditioning coach Caleb Heim) does a great job.

“We have two different ways we track the speed of our players. … We had the most plays where guys travel, like, 16 miles per hour or more in the UNLV game than any game all year. So I think that’s a good combination of staying fresh, but also, we’re playing hard.”

ATTENDANCE FIGURES: UNM has allocated over 20,000 tickets for Saturday’s game, per a post from the athletic department’s X account Wednesday night.